Gilt By Association

You are going to see a lot of gold in 2009. It’s vintage elegance will be the new bling of the year. Gold can be a rich (pardon the pun) color, and when paired with texture, it can create quite a refined look. However, if overdone, it can look gaudy—and what was once your subdued elegant event is now the Mr. T of weddings.

Not fabulous.

How to Get It Right

Gold is powerful—its opulence should be used sparingly to get the full effect. You could opt for gold bridesmaid dresses to add color, like these from Impression Bridal (styles 16377 and 1642). They aren’t a brassy, overpowering gold. Instead, they are a soft gold. But if you did use these and went with gold laced decor, it would lose its meaning and appear overdone.

Linens

If you go gold, incorporate some texture, like BBJ’s Golden Shantung. It’s rich texture really does the color justice. You could also use gold sheer overlays to soften some colors or liven up a drab white or ivory standard linen, all the while, adding a hint of your “gilty” pleasure.

If you opt for a solid gold satin, bring out the color by using a patterned linen of another color. For example, BBJ’s Ivory Deauville would be amazing over a solid gold lamour. If you really want to “do it up”, you could also check out their Gold Deauville;with its hint of deep red, you can really luxe up your linens.

Decor

Depending on your color scheme, you could take full advantage of a gold base by adding regal colors such as reds or purples. All white flowers can also have a rich but subtle effect. Incorporating golden containers, candelabras, candlesticks, chargers, lined glassware, etc. are other ways to play up this opulent theme. Gold chiavaris are also a great way to add opulence to your decor. Even if you find yourself loving the idea of gold, but don’t want to fully commit your linens (or budget), look for gold runners which can be custom-made or rented to match your theme.

Tying in the Other Details

With edible gold leaf and powders, you can take your affinity for the precious metal to a new level with your signature drink and cake. Adding gold touches to your wedding cake is a sure fire way to go from bridal dessert to work of art. The same can be said for your signature drink. At last year’s Governor’s Ball, Patron served 4000 of their very own siggies—the Patron Red Carpet. What was this divinity in a glass? Red raspberry tequila drenched in gold (ok, just rimmed in gold—but “drenched” sounds so luxe.) You can find a video of the recipe at the above link.

Recap:

Don’t over do it! You don’t gold to compete with your design, but complete it.

Remember the details—this could be something as small as chargers and flatware. Little things make a big impact.

If you feel like you’ve over done it, you probably have. Scale back a bit and see if your vision is still being conveyed.